Iran warns citizens of growing recruitment attempts by enemies, state media say
Entangled in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, which was able to assassinate numerous military commanders and nuclear scientists in its 12-day air war on Iran last month, Iran is ever more concerned about infiltration by the Israeli Mossad spy agency.
(This story has been refiled to change 'intelligence service' to 'intelligence unit' in paragraph 1)
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Sky News
38 minutes ago
- Sky News
Videos of emaciated Israeli hostage Evyatar David released by Hamas
Why you can trust Sky News Two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, have been released by Hamas, after US special envoy Steve Witkoff this week met with the families of the hostages. The now 24-year-old looks skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back, and says he has not eaten for three days. The distressing videos show him apparently digging his own grave. He worked in a restaurant, according to a video posted by Labour Friends of Israel, before he was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. Since then, he has been held in captivity in Gaza, and the videos suggest he is being kept in dark tunnels and surviving on scarce portions of lentils and beans. Gaza itself is suffering "man-made mass starvation" because of Israel's blockade on aid to the enclave, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said. In the second video, released on Saturday, Mr David - according to the English subtitles - says: "I haven't eaten for three days." The captions continue as he speaks while in an underground tunnel: "There's no [sic] enough food. I barely get drinking water." The video shows him talking through what ate in July, which has been recorded on a handmade calendar hung up on the side of an underground Gaza tunnel. Speaking while under captivity and under duress, he adds: "They give me what they can get." At the end of the video, he is digging a hole. The subtitle reads: "This is the grave where I think I'm going to be buried in. Time is running out." He then appears to break down, crouching on the floor and leaning his head on his arm while still clinging to the shovel. In a statement, his family said: "We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas's tunnels in Gaza - a living skeleton, buried alive. "Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition." They added: "Israel and the international community must oppose Hamas's cruelty and ensure that our Evyatar immediately receives proper nutrition. "The intentional starvation, torture, and abuse of Evyatar for propaganda purposes violate even the lowest standards of humanitarian law and basic human decency." 'Famine' looms in Gaza On Friday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff visited a site where the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing food in Gaza. The controversial GHF scheme has been widely condemned, including by the UK government, after fatal shootings ever since it was set up earlier this year. According to the United Nations' human rights office, at least 859 people have been killed "in the vicinity" of GHF aid sites since late May. The Israel Defence Forces has repeatedly said it "categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians" and has blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians. Meanwhile, the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC) this week said a "worst-case scenario of famine" was sinking in across the besieged enclave. It has also said more than 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition since April. Families of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are concerned they are also starving, and blame Hamas. On Saturday, Gaza's health ministry said a further seven Palestinians had died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours, including a child.
Times
41 minutes ago
- Times
Hamas negotiators demand Jerusalem be Palestinian state capital
Hamas says it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital. The statement, which reasserts a long-held demand by the group, seemingly came in response to a declaration by the Arab League last week that called for Hamas to lay down its weapons and release all remaining hostages. On Tuesday, the 22 member nations called for Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza and hand it over to the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank. After comments from Steve Witkoff, the US's envoy to the Middle East, claiming that Hamas was willing to disarm, the militant group said: 'Armed resistance … cannot be relinquished except through the full restoration of our national rights, foremost among them the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.' Qatar and Egypt, which have mediated ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia that outlined steps towards a two-state solution. Part of this required Hamas to relinquish its weapons to the western-backed Palestinian Authority. Israel has previously stated that it considers the disarmament of Hamas a core component of any agreement to end the conflict, while Hamas has reiterated that it is not prepared to hand over its weapons. Hamas expelled the Palestinian Authority from Gaza in 2007, when it took control of the strip, imposing its authoritarian brand of Islamist rule. The US and other western nations, as well as the Arab League, argue that the authority is best placed to rule Gaza. However, it is widely despised by Palestinians, who see it as corrupt. They are united in their distaste for President Abbas, 89, and any attempt to install him as the ruler of Gaza is likely to meet resistance. Sir Keir Starmer announced plans on Wednesday to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire. This follows the lead set by President Macron and has been joined by Canada. • Keir Starmer says he will not back down on Palestinian state pledge In response, Binyamin Netanyahu said that the decision rewarded 'Hamas's monstrous terrorism' and 'punishes its victims'. Emily Damari, a British-Israeli woman who was held captive by Hamas, accused Starmer of 'moral failure' and said the move would 'embolden extremists'. Starmer was also warned by some of Britain's most prominent lawyers that the pledge risked breaking international law.
Reuters
41 minutes ago
- Reuters
US envoy tells Israeli hostage families he is working on plan to end Gaza War
JERUSALEM, Aug 2 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy told families of hostages being held by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. Trump has made ending the conflict a major priority of his administration, though negotiations have faltered. Steve Witkoff is visiting Israel as its government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a recording of the meeting, reviewed by Reuters, Witkoff is heard saying: "We have a very, very good plan that we're working on collectively with the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Netanyahu ... for the reconstruction of Gaza. That effectively means the end of the war." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his remarks. Witkoff also said that Hamas was prepared to disarm in order to end the war, though the group has repeatedly said it will not lay down its weapons. In response to the reported remarks, Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war, said it would not relinquish "armed resistance" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" is established. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and deal for the release of half the hostages ended last week in deadlock. On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole, which, he says in the video, is for his own grave. Witkoff met with Netanyahu on Thursday. Afterward, a senior Israeli official said an understanding between Israel and Washington was emerging that there was a need to move from a plan to release some of the hostages to a plan to release all the hostages, disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip, echoing Israel's key demands for ending the war. On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of it, they said Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Witkoff arrived in Israel with Netanyahu's government facing a global outcry over devastation in Gaza and the starvation growing among its 2.2 million people. The crisis has also prompted a string of Western powers to announce they may recognize a Palestinian state. On Friday, Witkoff visited a U.S.-backed aid operation in southern Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Dozens have died of malnutrition in recent weeks after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May, according to Gaza's health ministry. It said on Saturday that it had recorded seven more fatalities, including a child, since Friday. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. U.N. agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease the access to it. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
